October 31, 1961 1. Peter Jackson is born to Bill and Joan Jackson of Pukerua Bay.(Could be in the appendices if he wanted it to be)...One person can make a difference. Vigilant, devoted, a passionate steward of the works of Tolkien and his beloved homeland. Happy Birthday, Peter!

November 1, 2941 (S.R. 1341)1. An angered Smaug searches the mountain.(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."Dragons may not have much real use for all their wealth, but they know it to an ounce as a rule, especially after long possession; and Smaug was no exception. He had passed from an uneasy dream (in which a warrior, altogether insignificant in size but provided with a bitter sword and great courage, figured most unpleasantly)... ...to wide waking. There was a breath of strange air in his cave. Could there be a draught from that little hole..? ….He stirred and stretched forth his neck to sniff. Then he missed the cup! ...Thieves! Fire! Murder! Such a thing had not happened since first he came to the Mountain! His rage passes description... ...He thrust his head in vain at the little hole, and then coiling his length together, roaring like thunder underground, he sped from his deep lair through its great door, out into the huge passages of the mountains-palace and up towards the Front Gate. ...To hunt the whole mountain till he had caught the thief and had torn and trampled him was his one thought. He issued from the Gate... ...and up he soared blazing into the air and settled on the mountain-top in a spout of green and scarlet flame. The dwarves heard the awful rumour of his flight, and they crouched against the walls of the grassy terrace cringing under boulders, hoping somehow to escape the frightful eyes of the hunting dragon. ...There they would have all been killed, if it had not been for Bilbo once again. "Quick! Quick!" he gasped. "The door! The tunnel! It's no good here." ...Roused by these words they were just about to creep inside the tunnel when Bifur gave a cry: "My cousins! Bombur and Bofur—we have forgotten them, they are down in the valley!" ..."They will be slain, and all our ponies too..." moaned the others. "We can do nothing." ..."Nonsense!" said Thorin, recovering his dignity. "We cannot leave them. Get inside Mr. Baggins and Balin, and you two Fili and Kili—the dragon shan't have all of us. Now you others, where are the ropes? Be quick!" ......Up came Bofur, and still all was safe. Up came Bombur, puffing and blowing while the ropes creaked, and still all was safe. Up came some tools and bundles of stores, and then danger was upon them. A whirring nose was heard. A red light touched the points of standing rocks.... ......They had barely time to fly back to the tunnel… …when Smaug came hurtling from the North, licking the mountain-sides with flame, beating his great wings with a noise like a roaring wind. His hot breath shrivelled the grass before the door, and drove in through the crack they had left and scorched them as they lay hid. Flickering fires leaped up and black rock-shadows danced. Then darkness fell as he passed again...." 2. Bilbo returns to Smaug's chamber in the afternoon. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."Smaug certainly looked fast asleep… …when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug's left eye. He was only pretending to sleep…! ...Hurriedly Bilbo stepped back and blessed the luck of his ring. Then Smaug spoke. ..."Well, thief! I smell you and I feel your air. I hear your breath. Come along! Help yourself again, there is plenty and to spare!" ...But Bilbo was not quite so unlearned in dragon-lore as all that, and if Smaug hoped to get him to come nearer so easily he was disappointed. "No thank you, O Smaug the Tremendous!" he replied. "I did not come for presents. I only wished to have a look at you and see if you were truly as great as tales say…" ..."…Do you now?" said the dragon somewhat flattered, even though he did not believe a word of it. ..."Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of the reality, O Smaug the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities," replied Bilbo. ..."You have nice manners for a thief and a liar… …You seem familiar with my name, but I don't seem to remember smelling you before. Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?" ..."You may indeed! I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen." ..."So I can well believe… …but that is hardly your usual name." ..."I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number." ..."Lovely titles!" sneered the dragon… ..."…I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me." ..."These don't sound so creditable," scoffed Smaug. ..."I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider," went on Bilbo beginning to be pleased with his riddling. ..."That's better!" said Smaug. "But don't let your imagination run away with you!" ...This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don't want to reveal your proper name… …and don't want to infuriate them by a flat refusal… …No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it. There was a lot here which Smaug did not understand at all… …but he thought he understood enough… ..."…he smiled to himself. "Lake-men, some nasty scheme of those miserable tub-trading Lake-men, or I'm a lizard. I haven't been down that way for an age and an age; but I will soon alter that…!"

......Bilbo was now beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Whenever Smaug's roving eye… …flashed across him, he trembled, and an unaccountable desire seized hold of him to rush out and reveal himself and tell all the truth to Smaug. In fact he was in grievous danger of coming under the dragon-spell....

..."...My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, and the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my winds a hurricane, and my breath death!" ..."I have always understood," said Bilbo in a frightened squeak, "that dragons were softer underneath, especially in the region of the—er—chest; but doubtless one so fortified has thought of that." ...The dragon stopped short in his boasting. "Your information is antiquated… …I am armoured above and below with iron scales and hard gems. No blade can pierce me." ..."I might have guessed it," said Bilbo. "Truly there can nowhere be found the equal of Lord Smaug the Impenetrable. What magnificence to possess a waistcoat of fine diamonds!" ..."Yes, it is rare and wonderful, indeed," said Smaug absurdly pleased. He did not know that the hobbit had already caught a glimpse of his peculiar under-covering on his previous visit, and was itching for a closer view for reasons of his own....

......the dragon spouted terrific flames after him… …the nostrils sent forth fire and vapour to pursue him, and he was nearly overcome, and stumbled blindly on in great pain and fear. He had been feeling rather pleased with the cleverness of his conversation with Smaug, but his mistake at the end shook him into better sense. ..."Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!" he said to himself, and it became a favourite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb....

......[The dwarves] had difficulty in getting anything out of him… …he was now regretting some of the things he had said to the dragon, and was not eager to repeat them. The old thrush was sitting on a rock near by with his head cocked on one side, listening to all that was said. It shows what an ill temper Bilbo was in: he picked up a stone and threw it at the thrush, which merely fluttered aside and came back. ..."Drat the bird… …I believe he is listening, and I don't like the look of him." ..."Leave him alone!" said Thorin. "The thrushes are good and friendly---this is a very old bird indeed, and is maybe the last left of the ancient breed… …tame to the hands of my father and grandfather. They were a long-lived and magical race, and this might even be one of those that were alive then, a couple of hundreds of years or more ago. The Men of Dale used to have the trick of understanding their language, and used them for messengers to fly to the Men of the Lake and elsewhere...." ..."Well, he'll have news to take to Lake-town all right..," said Bilbo; "…though I don't suppose there are any people left there that trouble with thrush-language." ...'Why what has happened?" cried the dwarves. "Do get on with your tale!" ...So Bilbo told them all he could remember… ......All the while they talked the thrush listened, till at last when the stars began to peep forth, it silently spread it wings and flew away....

3. Smaug attacks Lake-town.(determined from text)..."'...suddenly a great light appeared in the low place in the hills and the northern end of the lake turned golden. "The King beneath the Mountain!" they shouted. "His wealth is like the Sun, his silver like a fountain, his rivers golden run...! ...There was once more a tremendous excitement and enthusiasm. But the grim-voiced fellow ran hotfoot to the Master. "The dragon is coming or I am a fool... ...Cut the bridges! To arms! To arms!" ...Then warning trumpets were suddenly sounded, and echoed along the rocky shores. The cheering stopped and the joy was turned to dread. So it was that the dragon did not find them quite unprepared. ...Before long, so great was his speed, they could see him as a spark of fire rushing towards them and growing ever huger and more bright... ... Still they had a little time. Every vessel in the town was filled with water, every warrior was armed, every arrow and dart was ready, and the bridge to the land was thrown down and destroyed before the roar of Smaug's terrible approach grew loud, and the lake rippled red as fire beneath the awful beating of his wings.... ......Roaring he swept back over the town. A hail of dark arrows leaped up and snapped and rattled on his scales and jewels, and their shafts fell back kindled by his breath burning and hissing into the lake.... ...At the twanging of the bows and the shrilling of the trumpets the dragon's wrath blazed to its height, till he was blind and mad with it. No one had dared to give battle to him for many an age; nor would they have dared now, if it had not been for the grim-voiced man (Bard was his name), who ran to and fro cheering on the archers and urging the Master to order them to fight to the last arrow. ...Fire leaped from the dragon's jaws. He circled for a while high in the air above them lighting all the lake... ...Then down he swooped straight through the arrow-storm, reckless in his rage, taking no heed to turn his scaly sides towards his foes, seeking only to set their town ablaze....

......But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses. Their captain was Bard, grim-voiced and grim-faced... ...he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent. The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time. ...Suddenly out of the dark something fluttered to his shoulder. He started—but it was only an old thrush. Unafraid it perched by his ear and it brought him news. Marvelling he found he could understand its tongue, for he was of the race of Dale. ..."Wait! Wait..! ...The moon is rising. Look for the hollow of the left breast as he flies and turns above you!" And while Bard paused in wonder it told him of tidings up in the Mountain and of all that it had heard. ...Then Bard drew his bow-string to his ear. The dragon was circling back, flying low, and as he came the moon rose above the eastern shore and silvered his great wings... ..."...Black arrow! I have saved you to the last. You have never failed me and always I have recovered you. I had you from my father and he from of old. If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!" ...The dragon swooped once more... ...and as he turned and dived down his belly glittered white with sparkling fires of gems in the moon—but not in one place. The great bow twanged. The black arrow sped straight from the string, straight for the hollow by the left breast where the foreleg was flung wide. In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight. With a shriek that deafened men, felled trees and split stone, Smaug shot spouting into the air, turned over and crashed down from on high in ruin. ...Full on the town he fell. His last throes splintered it to sparks and gledes... ...A vast steam leaped up, white in the sudden dark under the moon. There was a hiss, a gushing whirl, and then silence. And that was the end of Smaug and Esgaroth, but not of Bard."

4. Lake-town in the aftermath. (determined from text)......down the wind came the voices of the people of Esgaroth lamenting their lost town and goods and ruined houses. But they had really much to be thankful for... ...though it could hardly be expected that they should just then: three quarters of the people of the town had at least escaped alive; their woods and fields and pastures and cattle and most of their boats remained undamaged; and the dragon was dead. What that meant they had not yet realized. ...They gathered in mournful crowds upon the western shores, shivering in the cold wind, and their first complaints and anger were against the Master, who had left the town so soon, while some were still willing to defend it... ... they praised the courage of Bard and his last mighty shot. "If only he had not been killed," they all said, "we would make him a king. Bard the Dragon-shooter of the line of Girion! Alas that he is lost!" ...And in the very midst of their talk, a tall figure stepped from the shadows. He was drenched with water, his black hair hung wet over his face and shoulders, and a fierce light was in his eyes. ..."Bard is not lost!" he cried. "He dived from Esgaroth when the enemy was slain. I am Bard, of the line of Girion; I am the slayer of the dragon!" ... "King Bard! King Bard!" they shouted; but the Master ground his chattering teeth...."

November 1, 3018 (S.R. 1418)1. The hobbits rest in Rivendell as scouts search the lands for news of the enemy.(not in the appendices-no text)

November 1, 3019 (S.R. 1419)1. They are arrested at Frogmorton.(from the appendices)..."As they came to the east end of the village they met a barrier with a large board saying NO ROAD; and behind it stood a large band of Shirriffs with staves in their hands and feathers in their caps, looking both important and rather scared. ...'What's all this?' said Frodo, feeling inclined to laugh. ...'This is what it is, Mr. Baggins,' said the leader of the Shirriffs, a two-feather hobbit: 'You're arrested for Gate-breaking, and Tearing up of Rules, and Assaulting Gate-keepers, and Trespassing, and Sleeping in Shire-buildings without Leave, and Bribing Guards with Food…'

...'…I can add some more, if you'd like it,' said Sam. 'Calling your Chief Names, Wishing to punch his Pimply Face, and Thinking you Shirriffs look a lot of Tom-fools.' ...'There now, Mister, that'll do. It's the Chief's orders that you're to come along quiet. We're going to take you to Bywater and hand you over to the Chief's Men… …To the discomfiture of the Shirriffs Frodo and his companions all roared with laughter. 'Don't be absurd!' said Frodo. 'I am going where I please, and in my own time. I happen to be going to Bag End on business, but if you insist on going too, well that is your affair.' ...'Very well, Mr. Baggins… …But don't forget I've arrested you.' ...'I won't,' said Frodo. 'Never. But I may forgive you. Now I am not going any further today, so if you'll kindly escort me to the Floating Log, I'll be obliged… …Go on and we'll follow.' ...Sam had been looking the Shirriffs up and down and had spotted one that he knew. 'Hey, come here Robin Smallburrow!' he called. 'I want a word with you....' ...'...You should be ashamed of yourself having anything to do with such nonsense,' said Sam. 'You used to like the inside of an inn better than the outside yourself. You were always poppin in, on duty or off.' ...'And so I would be still, Sam, if I could… …You know how I went for a Shirriff… …Gave me a chance of walking round the country and seeing folk, and hearing the news, and knowing where the good beer was. But now it's different.' ...'But you can give it up, stop Shirriffing, if it has stopped being a respectable job,' said Sam. ...'We're not allowed to,' said Robin. ...'If I hear NOT ALLOWED much oftener,' said Sam, 'I'm going to get angry....'" 5th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observation List - August 11, 20131st draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observation List - August 11, 2013

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West."

November 2, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. The Dwarves venture into the mountain.(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)...""Now do be careful!" whispered the hobbit, "and as quiet as you can be! There may be no Smaug at the bottom, but then again there may be. Don't let us take any un-necessary risks!" ...Down, down they went. The dwarves could not... ...compare with the hobbit in real stealth, and they made a deal of puffing and shuffling which echoes magnified alarmingly... ...every now and again Bilbo in fear stopped and listened, not a sound stirred below....

......They saw the little dark shape of the hobbit start across the floor holding his tiny light aloft. Every now and again, while he was still near enough, they caught a glint and a tinkle as he stumbled on some golden thing. The light grew smaller as he wandered away into the vast hall; then it began to rise dancing into the air. Bilbo was climbing the great mound of treasure. Soon he stood upon the top... ...Then they saw him halt and stoop for a moment; but they did not know the reason. ...It was the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain. So Bilbo guessed from Thorin's description; but indeed there could not be two such gems, even in so marvellous a hoard, even in all the world....

......The great jewel shone before his feet of its own inner light, and yet, cut and fashioned by the dwarves, who had dug it from the heart of the mountain long ago, it took all light that fell upon it and changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow. ...Suddenly Bilbo's arm went towards it drawn by its enchantment. His small hand would not close about it, for it was a large and heavy gem; but he lifted it, shut his eyes, and put it in his deepest pocket....

......"Mr. Baggins!" Thorin cried. "Here is the first payment of your reward! Cast off your old coat and put on this!" ...With that he put on Bilbo a small coat of mail, wrought for some young elf-prince long ago. It was of silversteel, which the elves call mithril, and with it went a belt of pearls and crystals. A light helm of figured leather, strengthened beneath with hoops of steel, and studded about the brim with white gems, was set upon the hobbit's head. ..."I feel magnificent... ...but I expect I look rather absurd. How they would laugh on the Hill at home! Still I wish there was a looking-glass handy!" 2. The people of Esgaroth struggle to find shelter and food.(determined from text)..."Bard took the lead, and ordered things as he wished, though always in the Master's name, and he had a hard task to govern the people and direct the preparations for their protection and housing. Probably most of them would have perished in the winter that now hurried after autumn, if help had not been to hand."

November 2, 3019 (S.R. 1419)1. They come to Bywater and rouse the Shire-folk.(from the appendices)..."It was about eighteen miles to Bywater, and they set off at ten o'clock in the morning. They would have started earlier, only the delay so plainly annoyed the Shirriff-leader... ......It was rather a comic cavalcade that left the village, though the few folk that came out to stare at the 'get-up' of the travellers did not seem quite sure whether laughing was allowed. A dozen Shirriffs had been told off as escort to the 'prisoners'; but Merry made them march in front, while Frodo and his friends rode behind. Merry, Pippin, and Sam sat at their ease laughing and talking and singing, while the Shirriffs stumped along trying to look stern and important. Frodo, however, was silent and looked rather sad and thoughtful....

......At the Three-Farthing Stone they gave it up. They had done nearly fourteen miles with only one rest at noon. It was now three o'clock. They were hungry and very footsore and they could not stand the pace. ...'Well, come along in your own time!' said Merry. 'We are going on.' ...'Good-bye, Cock-robin!' said Sam. 'I'll wait for you outside The Green Dragon, if you haven't forgotten where that is. Don't dawdle on the way!'

......When they reached the Green Dragon, the last house on the Hobbiton side, now lifeless and with broken windows, they were disturbed to see half a dozen large ill-favoured Men lounging against the inn-wall... ......The ruffians had clubs in their hands and horns by their belts, but they had no other weapons, as far as could be seen. As the travellers rode up they left the wall and walked into the road, blocking the way. ...'Where d'you think you're going?' said one, the largest and most evil-looking of the crew... '...You little folk are getting too uppish. Don't you trust too much in the Boss's kind heart. Sharkey's come now, and he'll do what Sharkey says.' ...'And what may that be?' said Frodo quietly. ...'This country wants waking up and setting to rights,' said the ruffian, 'and Sharkey's going to do it; and make it hard, if you drive him to it...' ...'...You are behind the times...' [said Frodo] 'The Dark Tower has fallen, and there is a King in Gondor. And Isengard has been destroyed and your precious master is a beggar in the wilderness. I passed him on the road. The King's messengers will ride up the Greenway now, not bullies from Isengard.' ...'The man stared at him and smiled. 'A beggar in the wilderness!' he mocked. 'Oh, is he indeed? Swagger it, swagger it, my little cock-a-whoop....' ......This was too much for Pippin. His thoughts went back to the Field of Cormallen, and here was a squint-eyed rascal calling the Ring-bearer 'little cock-a-whoop'. He cast back his cloak, flashed out his sword, and the silver and sable of Gondor gleamed on him as he rode forward. ...'I am a messenger of the King,' he said. 'You are speaking to the King's friend, and one of the most renowned in all the lands of the West. You are a ruffian and a fool. Down on your knees in the road and ask pardon, or I will set this troll's bane in you!' ...The sword glinted in the westering sun. Merry and Sam drew their swords also and rode up to support Pippin; but Frodo did not move. The ruffians gave back... ...Fearless hobbits with bright swords and grim faces were a great surprise. And there was a note in the voices of these newcomers that they had not heard before. It chilled them with fear. ...'Go!' said Merry. 'If you trouble this village again, you will regret it.' The three hobbits came on, and then the ruffians turned and fled, running away up the Hobbiton Road; but they blew their horns as they ran...

...'...I've an idea,' said Sam. 'Let's go to old Tom Cotton's down South Lane! He always was a stout fellow. And he has a lot of lads that were all friends of mine.' ...'No!' said Merry. 'It's no good "getting under cover". That is just what people have been doing, and just what these ruffians like. They will simply come down on us in force... ...No, we have got to do something at once.' ...'Do what?' said Pippin. ...'Raise the Shire!' said Merry. 'Now! Wake all our people... ...Shire-folk have been so comfortable so long they don't know what to do. They just want a match... ...and they'll go up in fire. The Chief's Men must know that. They'll try to stamp on us and put us out quick. We've only got a very short time. ...'Sam, you can make a dash for Cotton's farm, if you like. He's the chief person round here, and the sturdiest.... ...I am going to blow the horn of Rohan, and give them all some music they have never heard before.' ...They rode back to the middle of the village. There Sam turned aside and galloped off down the lane that led south to Cotton's. He had not gone far when he heard a sudden clear horn-call go up ringing into the sky. Far over hill and field it echoed; and so compelling was that call that Sam himself almost turned and dashed back. His pony reared and neighed. ...'On, lad! On..! ...We'll be going back soon.' ...Then he heard Merry change the note, and up went the Horn-cry of Buckland, shaking the air.

November 3, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. Thorin learns news of Smaug's death from the ravens.(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)...[Balin speaks of ravens] "They live many a year, and their memories are long, and they hand on their wisdom to their children. I knew many among the ravens of the rocks when I was a dwarf-lad. This very height was once named Ravenhill, because there was a wise and famous pair, old Carc and his wife, that lived here above the guard-chamber. But I don't suppose that any of that ancient breed linger here now." ...No sooner had he finished speaking than the old thrush gave a loud call, and immediately flew away. ..."We may not understand him, but that old bird understands us, I am sure," said Balin... ......Before long there was a fluttering of wings, and back came the thrush; and with him came a most decrepit old bird. He was getting blind, he could hardly fly, and the top of his head was bald. He was an aged raven of great size. He alighted stiffly on the ground before them,... ...and bobbed towards Thorin. ..."O Thorin son of Thráin, and Balin son of Fundin," he croaked (...he used ordinary language and not bird-speech). "I am Roäc son of Carc. Carc is dead, but he was well known to you once. It is a hundred years and three and fifty since I came out of the egg, but I do not forget what my father told me. Now I am the chief of the great ravens of the Mountain... ...we remember still the king that was of old. Most of my people are abroad, for there are great tidings in the South—some are tidings of joy to you, and some you will not think so good. ..."Behold! the birds are gathering back again to the Mountain and to Dale from South and East and West, for word has gone out that Smaug is dead!" ..."Dead! Dead?" shouted the dwarves. "Dead! Then we have been in needless fear—and the treasure is ours!" They all sprang up and began to caper about for joy."

November 3, 3019 (S.R. 1419)1. Battle of Bywater, and Passing of Saruman. End of the War of the Ring.(from the appendices)..."...a messenger from the Tookland rode in. He was in high spirits. 'The Thain has raised all our country,' he said, 'and the news is going like fire all ways. The ruffians that were watching our land have fled off south... ...The Thain has gone after them, to hold off the big gang down that way; but he's sent Mr. Peregrin back with all the other folk he can spare.' ...The next news was less good. Merry, who had been out all night, came riding in about ten o'clock. 'There's a big band about four miles away... ...They're coming along the road from Waymeet, but a good many stray ruffians have joined up with them. There must be close on a hundred of them; and they're fire-raising as they come. Curse them...!' ......The ruffians came tramping along the East Road, and without halting turned up the Bywater Road... ...they met a stout barrier of old farm-carts upturned. That halted them. At the same moment they became aware that the hedges on both sides, just above their heads, were all lined with hobbits. Behind them other hobbits now pushed out some more waggons that had been hidden in a field, and so blocked the way back. A voice spoke to them from above. ...'Well, you have walked into a trap,' said Merry. 'Your fellows from Hobbiton did the same, and one is dead and the rest are prisoners. Lay down your weapons! Then go back twenty paces and sit down. Any who try to break out will be shot.' ...But the ruffians could not now be cowed so easily.... ...A score or more broke back and charged the waggons. Six were shot, but the remainder burst out, killing two hobbits, and then scattering across country in the direction of the Woody End. Two more fell as they ran. Merry blew a loud horn-call, and there were answering calls from a distance.

......At last all was over. Nearly seventy of the ruffians lay dead on the field, and a dozen were prisoners. Nineteen hobbits were killed, and some thirty were wounded.... ...The fallen hobbits were laid together in a grave on the hill-side, where later a great stone was set up with a garden about it. So ended the Battle of Bywater, 1419, the last battle fought in the Shire, and the only battle since the Greenfields, 1147, away up in the Northfarthing.... ......When the fighting was over, and the later labours were ordered, Merry, Pippin, and Sam joined him [Frodo], and they rode back with the Cottons. They at a late midday meal, and then Frodo said with a sigh: 'Well, I suppose it is time now that we dealt with the "Chief"...' ......At the top of the lane the party halted, and Frodo and his friends went on; and they came at last to the once beloved place. The garden was full of huts and sheds, some so near the old westward windows that they cut off all their light. There were piles of refuse everywhere. [Bag End's] door was scarred; the bell-chain was dangling loose... ...At length they pushed and the door yielded. They went in. The place stank and was full of filth and disorder: it did not appear to have been used for some time....

...'...This is worse than Mordor!' said Sam. 'Much worse in a way. It comes home to you, as they say; because it is home, and you remember it before it was all ruined.' ...'Yes, this is Mordor,' said Frodo. 'Just one of its works. Saruman was doing its work all the time...' ......Merry looked round in dismay and disgust.... '...If I had known all the mischief he had caused, I should have stuffed my pouch down Saruman's throat.' ...'No doubt, no doubt! But you did not, and so I am able to welcome you home.' There standing at the door was Saruman himself, looking well-fed and well-pleased; his eyes gleamed with malice and amusement. ...A sudden light broke on Frodo. 'Sharkey!' he cried. ...Saruman laughed. 'So you have heard the name, have you? All my people used to call me that in Isengard... ...But evidently you did not expect to see me here.' ...'I did not,' said Frodo. 'But I might have guessed. A little mischief in a mean way: Gandalf warned me that you were still capable of it.' ...'Quite capable... ...and more than a little. You made me laugh, you hobbit-lordlings, riding along with all those great people, so secure and so pleased with your little selves.... ...you must go dangling after [Gandalf], dawdling and talking, and riding round twice as far as you needed. "Well," thought I, "if they're such fools, I will get ahead of them and teach them a lesson. One ill turn deserves another." It would have been a sharper lesson, if only you had given me a little more time and more Men. Still I have already done much that you will find it hard to mend or undo in your lives. And it will be pleasant to think of that and set it against my injuries.' ...'Well, if that is what you find pleasure in,' said Frodo. 'I pity you. It will be a pleasure of memory only, I fear. Go at once and never return!' ...The hobbits of the villages... ...heard Frodo's command, they murmured angrily: ...'Don't let him go! Kill him! He's a villain and a murderer. Kill him!' ...Saruman looked round at their hostile faces and smiled. 'Kill him!' he mocked. 'Kill him, if you think there are enough of you, my brave hobbits!' He drew himself up... '... Whoever strikes me shall be accursed. And if my blood stains the Shire, it shall wither and never again be healed.' ...The hobbits recoiled. But Frodo said: 'Do not believe him! He has lost all power, save his voice that can still daunt you and deceive you, if you let it. But I will not have him slain. It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing. Go, Saruman, by the speediest way!' ...'Worm! Worm!' Saruman called; and out of a nearby hut came Wormtongue, crawling, almost like a dog. 'To the road again, Worm!' said Saruman.... ...But even as Saruman passed close to Frodo a knife flashed in his hand, and he stabbed swiftly. The blade turned on the mail-coat and snapped. A dozen hobbits, led by Sam, leaped forward with a cry and flung the villain to the ground. Sam drew his sword. ...'No, Sam!' said Frodo. 'Do not kill him even now. For he has not hurt me. And in any case I do not wish him to be slain in this evil mood. He was great once, of a noble kind that we should not dare to raise our hands against. He is fallen, and his cure is beyond us; but I would still spare him, in the hope that he may find it.' ...Saruman rose to his feet, and stared at Frodo. There was a strange look in his eyes of mingled wonder and respect and hatred. 'You have grown, Halfling... ...Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel. You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to your mercy. I hate it and you! Well, I go and I will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing. I merely foretell....'

...'...Worm killed your Chief, poor little fellow, your nice little Boss. Didn't you, Worm? Stabbed him in his sleep, I believe. Buried him, I hope; though Worm has been very hungry lately. No, Worm is not really nice. You had better leave him to me.' ...A look of wild hatred came into Wormtongue's red eyes. 'You told me to; you made me do it,' he hissed. ...Saruman laughed. 'You do what Sharkey says, always, don't you, Worm? Well, now he says: follow!' He kicked Wormtongue in the face as he grovelled, and turned and made off... ...suddenly Wormtongue rose up, drawing a hidden knife, and then with a snarl like a dog he sprang on Saruman's back, jerked his head back, cut his throat, and with a yell ran off down the lane. Before Frodo could recover or speak a word, three hobbit-bows twanged and Wormtongue fell dead. ...To the dismay of those that stood by, about the body of Saruman a grey mist gathered, and rising slowly to a great height like smoke from a fire, as a pale shrouded figure it loomed over the Hill. For a moment it wavered, looking to the West; but out of the West came a cold wind, and it bent away, and with a sigh dissolved into nothing.... ...'And that's the end of that,' said Sam. 'A nasty end, and I wish I needn't have seen it; but it's a good riddance.' ...'And the very last end of the War, I hope,' said Merry. ...'I hope so,' said Frodo and sighed. 'The very last stroke. But to think that is should fall here, at the very door of Bag End! Among all my hopes and fears at least I never expected that....'" 5th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observation List - August 11, 20131st draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observation List - August 11, 2013

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West."

I think the same fate (Will of Good?) that had his hand fall onto the Ring in that dark tunnel is the same that guided him to that one spot in that cavernous pile of treasure where that gem was lying.

What are the odds the Arkenstone would be on top of all the treasure and not buried? Did Smaug find it and set it up there so it was easy for him to look at? Why didn't he use it as part of his belly-crusting? Well... p'raps cuz it was purdy and he wanted to oggle it whenever he fancied a fix :)

November 4, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. The dwarves fortify the Front Gate while the ravens bring news.(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."As they worked the ravens brought them constant tidings.... ...they heard that three of their ponies had escaped and were wandering wild far down the banks of the Running River, not far from where the rest of their stores had been left. So while the others went on with their work, Fili and Kili were sent, guided by a raven, to find the ponies and bring back all they could."

2. Bard takes the lead to care for the town's survivors. The Elves remember the Dwarves.(determined from text)..."Bard at once had speedy messengers sent up the river to the Forest to ask the aid of the King of the Elves of the Wood, and these messengers had found a host already on the move... ...it was then only the third day after the fall of Smaug. ...The Elvenking had received news from his own messengers and from the birds that loved his folk, and already knew much of what had happened. ..."That will be the last we shall hear of Thorin Oakenshield, I fear," said the king. "He would have done better to have remained my guest. It is an ill wind, all the same... ...that blows no one any good." For he too had not forgotten the legend of the wealth of Thror. So it was that Bard's messengers found him now marching with many spearmen and bowmen; and crows were gathered thick, above him, for they thought that war was awakening again, such as had not been in those parts for a long age."

November 4, 3018 (S.R. 1418)1. The Hobbits enjoy Rivendell.(not from the appendices-no text)...The partially formed Fellowship rests in Rivendell and prepares for their journey while waiting for scouts to return from searching the lands for enemy movement. Frodo grows stronger in both heart and body through the grace of Rivendell. He would walk with his friends and explore the rich culture and craft of their refuge and spend time visiting and speaking with the Elves to Sam's sheer awe and delight; but much of his time he spends with Bilbo in his room. They speak of many things from years gone by and their adventure on the road, yet they are always careful to avoid mention of the Black Riders, the Ring, and the darkness that followed after Weathertop.

November 4, 3019 (S.R. 1419)1. The healing of the Shire begins.(not from the appendices)..."The clearing up certainly needed a lot of work, but it took less time than Sam had feared. The day after the battle Frodo rode to Michel Delving and released the prisoners from the Lockholes. One of the first that they found was poor Fredegar Bolger, Fatty no longer. He had been taken when the ruffians smoked out a band of rebels that he led from their hidings up in the Brockenbores.... ...'...You would have done better to come with us after all, poor old Fredegar!' said Pippin, as they carried him out too weak to walk. ...He opened an eye and tried gallantly to smile. 'Who's this young giant with the loud voice?' he whispered. 'Not little Pippin! What's your size in hats now?' ...Then there was Lobelia. Poor thing, she looked very old and thin when they rescued her from a dark and narrow cell. She insisted on hobbling out on her own feet; and she had such a welcome, and there was such clapping and cheering when she appeared, leaning on Frodo's arm but still clutching her umbrella, that she was quite touched and drove away in tears. She had never in her life been popular... ...But she was crushed by the news of Lotho's murder, and she would not return to Bag End. She gave it back to Frodo, and went to her own people, the Bracegirdles of Hardbottle. ...When the poor creature died next Spring... ...Frodo was surprised and much moved: she had left all that remained of her money and of Lotho's for him to use in helping hobbits made homeless by the troubles. So that feud was ended. ...Old Will Whitfoot had been in the Lockholes longer than any, and... ...he needed a lot of feeding up before he could look the part of Mayor; so Frodo agreed to act as his Deputy, until Mr. Whitfoot was in shape again. The only thing that he did as Deputy Mayor was to reduce the Shirriffs to their proper functions and numbers." 5th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observation List - August 11, 20131st draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observation List - August 11, 2013

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West."

November 5, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. News travels of Smaug's defeat.(determined from text)..."Very great indeed was the commotion among all things with wings that dwelt on the borders of the Desolation of the Dragon. The air was filled with circling flocks, and their swift-flying messengers flew here and there across the sky.... ...Far over Mirkwood tidings spread: "Smaug is dead!" Leaves rustled and startled ears were lifted. Even before the Elvenking rode forth the news had passed west right to the pinewoods of the Misty Mountains; Beorn had heard it in his wooden house, and the goblins were at council in their caves."